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 Director
: John Lasseter
Starring
: Kevin Spacey, Dave Foley, Madeline
Kahn, Phyllis Diller, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, David Hyde-Pierce.
Picture
2.35:1 and 1.33:1, DD 5.1, Dual-Layer single side, Keep
Case
Running
Time : 95 mins
The
story:
An epic of miniature proportions.
This
is the story of an ant colony that is forced into collecting
food for the invading grasshoppers each Autumn. This year,
the overzealous Flick (Dave Foley) tries to help by collecting
seed but instead accomplishes losing the lot into a stream.
When the grasshoppers arrive, the chief Hopper (Kevin Spacey)
orders the ants to collect twice as much seed this harvest
or incur his wrath. Eager to rid the colony of Flick, the
Queen ant (Phyllis Diller) sends Flick on a quest to find
help. Flick then blunders into a group of out of work flea-circus
bugs who he mistakes for warriors. Thinking that they are
only there to entertain, the group agree to help out the
ants.
The
summary:
I was never a big fan of animated films, at least not until
The Lion King. This was a film that surpassed the blandly
created affairs that had previously been targeted at the
younger audience and accompanied by a few catchy sing-alongs.
With the arrival of films such as Toy Story, Antz and A
Bug's Life you were far more likely to find the parents
dragging their kids down to the cinema. Animation has finally
come of age.
Though
I try and avoid direct comparisons with other films, the
rivalry between Bug's and Antz means that try as I might,
it just can't be avoided, so let's compare. Ok, for starters,
Bug's is obviously more geared towards the kids audience
than Antz. The insects are brightly drawn (blue!) compared
to the dark moody brown-looking Antz and the jokes are aimed
at a younger level (in fact most kids just wouldn't get
the gags in Antz). The story is far more simplified too,
though it's not until you stop and think about it that you
notice - it's almost as if Disney has placed a cartoon facade
in front of a flimsy plot. Not that this matters of course
as this is a family orientated film and as a Disney rule
of thumb, it just doesn't take the risks.
The
picture quality is so spectacular that you just forget any
niggles you have with the film. Not surprisingly really
as this DVD is the very first direct digital transfer -
and what a difference it makes. The colours are vivid and
saturated and the picture is obviously grain free (as it
hasn't even been to film) . Even the full-screen version
has been digitally recomposed to retain the entire image!
This really is remarkable. The sound scores highly too and
is another winner in the Bug's v Antz comparison. In fact,
it's not until you compare the DVD's themselves that you
can really start to grumble. Antz is the real winner here
with considerably more content than Bug's and all stuck
together with a far superior menu. By contrast, it's just
a couple of extras on the Bug's disc (though a special edition
is now available). The bottom line is, there's room for
both in your collection. If this is a purchase for the kids
you've made the right choice. If it's for yourself, you
may want to consider buying Antz first.
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